Things In Politico That Make Me Want To Guzzle Antifreeze, Part The Infinity

Let us begin with the easy part. The backlash against the possibility of Chuck Hagel's being appointed Secretary Of Defense, a position for which he only has been rumored so far, exists for exactly the same basic reason that it existed against the possibility of Susan Rice's being appointed Secretary Of State, a position for which she only ever had been rumored. (You will note that in the scathing report released yesterday concerning the events in Benghazi, Rice's name does not appear.) There are various people inside and outside the Beltway who haven't accepted the results of the 2012 election any more than they ever accepted the results of the 2008 election and they seek merely to screw up this president whenever possible. Hagel's merely the latest excuse for the ongoing temper tantrum, and for their arrogant assertion that they know better who should run American foreign policy than does the president who was elected to do it.

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Of course, that doesn't stopTiger Beat On The Potomac from wallowing clumsily in "the controversy." For TBOTP, "controversy" is forever defined as "whatever conservatives are yelling about today." For example, in addition to groundless charges of anti-semitism from people who have made a living in such things, Hagel can't be Secretary Of Defense because he might be amenable to, you know, cutting the defense budget.

"Hagel has never served on the Armed Services Committee," said one, who asked not to be identified. "In fact, he's an outspoken proponent of defense cuts, so it seems that the president is putting him in there so that he can oversee additional cuts because he's got an 'R' next to his name. If I had to pick either good or bad, I'd say bad." Said a second: "He's not afraid to say the hard things - I think he would be supportive of cuts to things he deemed not necessary ... there will be some skepticism about what he would do for programs, especially those which are just getting off the ground.Added a third: "Some are leery given that he doesn't have a great track record with industry and is more of a policy guy than a management guy. There is great uncertainty about how he will manage both the bureaucracy and the military services in a time of transition. He isn't a budget guy, and right now budgets are a big part of the job."

Well, we certainly can't have that. Not when we've got our hands full making sure that old people have eighty bucks less a month to spend on groceries. If I were those three stooges, I'd have demanded anonymity, too. And speaking of stooges, why would the president ever fail to staff his administration based on the recommendations of a man who's been wrong about everything for 20 years?

And in a Weekly Standard piece in which conservative commentator Bill Kristol condemned Hagel for being "anti-Israel," he argued that Flournoy - along with another top candidate, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter - were better qualified for the job.

Then there is the great (and anonymous) concern among "Republican aides" that the president's cabinet is not diverse enough.

Two of the biggest criticisms of Hagel have been his past positions on Israel and that his appointment wouldn't increase diversity in the Cabinet. Flournoy is the solution to both those problems, a senior Republican Senate aide told POLITICO. "The Obama administration has picked three old white men for the top three Cabinet positions" - of vice president and the secretaries of Defense and State. "Where are the women? Flournoy is very well respected by foreign policy hands and those who served [in the Office of the Secretary of Defense] in the Bush administration," said the aide, adding that she had performed well on strategic discussions with Israel about Iron Dome, regional arm sales and the country's qualitative edge over its neighbors.

I swear to god, you could get Politico to print that "GOP aides believe" that John Boehner shoots mighty laser beams out of his ears.

But Hagel clearly has the contempt for Israel of a Euro-sophisticate. He wouldn't agree with the notorious comment of the French diplomat Daniel Bernard at a London dinner party years ago, "All the current troubles in the world are because of that shitty little country Israel." But he'd know where his fellow man of the world was coming from.

Chuck Hagel, the son of bluecollar Nebraska and decorated wounded infantry grunt, is the equivalent of a "Euro-sophisticate." We have entered the realm of parody early here. And, while he wouldn't say anything like that, "he'd know where his fellow man of the world was coming from." At least for a while, Joe McCarthy was an entertaining drunk. Lowry can't even claim that. But I think that this may take the prize.

Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel is reportedly under serious consideration to replace Leon Panetta as secretary of defense. A self-styled foreign policy realist, Hagel is out of the mainstream and terminally naive.

On March 28, while they were walking in column through the jungle, someone ahead of them tripped a mine that had been hung from a tree -- what today's grunts call an IED. Tom was fording a small creek when he was knocked down by a blast carrying pieces of the men who'd been in line ahead of him. He looked around for Chuck and found him, bleeding profusely from a chest wound. Tom got the bleeding stopped before he noticed that he'd been hit in the arm. They both stayed on patrol. Almost a month later, they were riding together in an armored vehicle when someone in a village they'd just passed set off a mine. Chuck's eardrum punctured and the left side of his face burned, the flesh bubbling. Tom was unconscious. Chuck yanked him free of the wreckage and then shielded him with his own body when the machine gunners in the village opened up on them. How do you go on from that? How do you live as brothers with those moments, surreal and desperate, hanging between you back in the world? "You have to have a life separate from it. Because it was a cloud over us for far too long," Tom says, his voice quavering. Chuck's stays firm and he says, "It's always there, but you move forward."

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me." And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it.